Infections resulting from microorganism contamination are a growing concern. Thus, it is often desirable or necessary to assay for the presence of microorganisms in various clinical, food, environmental, and other types of samples to identify and/or to quantify the microorganisms that are present. The ability to detect the presence of a particular microorganism is often dependent on the concentration of the microorganism in the sample being analyzed.
Various physical concentration methods such as, for example, filtration, chromatography, centrifugation, and gravitational settling have been utilized for non-specific capture of various microorganisms. These physical concentration methods have varied in speed, cost (e.g., at least some of some of the known methods require expensive equipment, materials, and/or trained technicians), sample requirements (e.g., sample nature and/or volume limitations), space requirements, ease of use (e.g., at least some of the known methods require complicated multi-step processes), suitability for on-site use, effectiveness, or a combination thereof. Inorganic materials such as various metal hydroxides and/or metal oxides have been used as concentration agents for the microorganisms in some of these methods such as those described, for example, in PCT International Publication Numbers WO 2009/046183 A1 (Kshirsagar), WO 2009/046191 A2 (Kshirsagar), WO 2009/085357 A2 (Kshirsagar), WO 2010/114725 A1 (Kshirsagar), WO 2010/114727 A1 (Kshirsagar), and WO 2011/079038 (Kshirsagar).